Avengers: Doomsday will reportedly be the final acting role in the career of Patrick Stewart.
The film is set to be released in cinemas on December 18, 2026 and it will feature the return of Robert Downey Jr. to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), this time in the role of the supervillain Doctor Doom.
The Avengers, the Wakandans, the Fantastic Four, the New Avengers and the original X-Men will all team up to take on Doctor Doom in the film, and among them will be Stewart as Charles Xavier, aka Professor X, and Ian McKellen’s Magneto.
Now, it has been reported that Stewart, who is 85, will give up acting once the film is completed. As discussed on The Kristian Harloff Show on November 3, Stewart will supposedly be “done with acting” and will be “stepping down” after Doomsday.
Stewart is one of the most respected actors of his generation, having studied at the Royal Shakespeare Company and earning a reputation as a stage actor, winning two Olivier Awards. He achieved new levels of fame playing Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation from 1987 to 1994, reprising the role in the 2020 spinoff series.
He played Professor X in Fox’s original trio of X-Men films from 2000 to 2006 and after Disney’s acquisition of Fox, he has become a part of the MCU, appearing in 2022’s Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness.
Doomsday will be the 39th film in the MCU and the fifth Avengers movie and will see the return of directors Anthony and Joe Russo, who also helmed Infinity War and Endgame among other MCU titles.
Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Mackie and Paul Rudd will return as Thor, Captain America and Ant-Man respectively, as will Letitia Wright as Shuri, aka Black Panther, and Vanessa Kirby, Pedro Pascal, Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Joseph Quinn will bring their Fantastic Four characters into the Avengers world.
Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, Wyatt Russell, Lewis Pullman and David Harbour will also be a part of the film as the New Avengers, as established in Thunderbolts* earlier this year, while Ryan Reynolds is also reported to be making an appearance as Deadpool.
Earlier this year, Avengers: Doomsday was moved from May 2026 to December, giving the production extra time to finish up but leaving fans impatient. One of the film’s cast, Alan Cumming, confirmed the return of his X-Men character Nightcrawler in the film.